Pooles Lane closure

Fri 11 Mar 2016, 17:31

Yes, a one-way system would add to the danger. Speed bumps have already been tried elsewhere in Charlbury, and eventually removed. Why was that?
Maybe a chicane would slow things down, as you Katie have witnessed in Headington, and it might stop some people from using it.
It's nice to hear that once you realised how much trouble all the traffic is causing, you have decided to stop driving down the lane. Thanks very much for your consideration.

Fri 11 Mar 2016, 11:39

I do take your point Susie it's a complicated issue. But having seen my children able to play games in Pooles Lane the other week instead of worrying about traffic it is something that I wish we could make work.

A one-way system would only speed cars up along Pooles Lane though - they would no longer be worrying about cars coming in the opposite direction.

Thu 10 Mar 2016, 12:44 (last edited on Thu 10 Mar 2016, 22:03)

But if the road was closed after Fishers Lane, as it was last week, Hixet Wood would be the ONLY route out if entering Sheep Street, when at present there are three options, which therefore lessens the overall traffic using any given road. People use these roads for all manner of reasons, not just to visit the Co Op, and many cars unfamiliar with Charlbury end up in the one-way system without realising and then need to circle back round. It is human nature to take the quickest route, and with the best will in the world it will be impossible to stop people from doing so without closing the entire centre. I suspect people exiting via Hixet Wood would then use Marlborough Place to cut the corner off the Sturt Rd/Fiveways route, for example. And then what happens to cars coming in to Hixet Wood from the other end? They would presumably reach a dead end at Fishers Lane. So would this have to close, too? Where would they all turn round? What about residents and deliveries? I would have thought a better solution, and compromise, would be to make Pooles Lane one way, feeding back into Charlbury centre. Cars could then be forced to slow down with humps/other measures.

Thu 10 Mar 2016, 11:54

If the closure was made at the point the roadworks blocked the lane last week, i.e. just after the Fishers Lane turn as you face Co-op, then Hixett Wood would not be a viable alternative for traffic heading towards the Spendlove Centre (because of the one-way system). Admittedly for traffic going from Co-op towards Fiveways the route along Sheep Street and Hixett Wood might be a new option, but I would have thought up Enstone Road and along the Slade would be a more obvious route.

Wed 9 Mar 2016, 15:36 (last edited on Wed 9 Mar 2016, 20:20)

If Pooles Lane is closed for the long term, all traffic that enters Sheep Street will be forced to exit either along Hixet Wood or Dancer's Hill, neither of which seems any more suitable than Pooles Lane. Hixet Wood in particular is extremely narrow at certain points, often with many parked cars, and no footpath for some distance. Surely this would simply transfer the problem to another equally problematic road?!

Wed 9 Mar 2016, 14:51

While most of the passing traffic is considerate and slows down, there are always a few that don't bother to reduce their speed. On one occaision when I called someone out for accellerating aggressively past me and my small son
(she was cross because she'd had to wait a minute for a car coming the other way) I was told in no uncertain terms that it was a road and therefore for cars not people. As a resident who walks along there every day I would strongly welcome a closure to through traffic, and I hope that my opinion on the safety of myself and my family would not be disregarded because I haven't lived in Charlbury since the beginning of time.

Wed 9 Mar 2016, 13:44

Can I respond to this survey or is it too late? Having walked along Pooles lane twice a day for the past 20 years sometimes pushing a buggy and with a small child, and with an elderly lady with dementia and mobility problems for 5 years before that, I know that traffic slows down and there is no need for walkers to stop. It sees you, it slows down so it doesn't hit you, believe me. The only time you need to stand right on the edge is in one of the two narrowest spots or if a pickup or van is going past.

Wed 9 Mar 2016, 12:15

FWIW, I have now stopped driving along there since it was temporarily closed, even though it has since re-opened. Prior to the recent discussions, I wasn't really aware of how much of an issue the traffic along the lane is to people that live there. Would it be worth putting up more notices about speed along to raise it in people's awareness and changing the layout somehow? A similar exercise on a rat-run near where I work in Headington has been very effective. A chicane was put in, which reduced the speed of traffic so much that drivers seemed to avoid it as it was no longer a short-cut because it took longer to navigate. This still permits essential access for residents though.

Wed 9 Mar 2016, 10:28

It s interesting to see that 40% of the people agreed and 60% did not agree over the permanent closure of Pooles Lane. It is tempting to say "well they would say that". At a guess, the people who need to walk along the lane safely are in the much smaller minority, so their poll is therefore bound to reflect their numbers. 40% of all pollsters in this context is therefore a big number. There are bound to be more people interested in driving down the lane simply because there are more people driving than walking. I therefore see this basic exercise as a very encouraging signal that road closure to through traffic should be considered a serious option.
You could say "well she would say that" and of course it's true. I, and various neighbours with small children, live in the most dangerous part of the lane, which is under threat of becoming more urbanised in the near future, directly affecting the walkers, not the drivers. For the majority of drivers it is a short cut; to the walkers who live in the immediate vicinity, a daily hazard.
Just as an afterthought, I trust that the Neighbourhood Forum survey will have a statistcian on board to assist in accurately interpreting the results.

Wed 9 Mar 2016, 09:23 (last edited on Wed 9 Mar 2016, 09:32)

A long time citizen of Charlbury, Miss Wallis used to talk about people coming here thinking their £ was worth 25shillings

Wed 9 Mar 2016, 09:03

i live near pools lane and use it every day you people come to charlbury and interfear with the way it hase run for years should go back to where you came from and leave us alone

Tue 8 Mar 2016, 17:33

Thank you to all that responded and to all who made comments with some very good points
I thought people would be interested to know the results so here they are ;
30 people responded
about 50% said they could use another route
38% the closure had no effect on them
Concerns from pedestrians were were
Traffic too fast 66%
There should be a pavement 41%
Traffic too close 33%
Traffic does now wait 33%
however on the idea of a permanent closure
40% agreed and
60% disagreed
Of course this was just a survey and will not result in any action directly but is interesting
We are using the same web site for the Neighbourhood Forum Survey and that WILL lead to some action so please fill that in now

Tue 8 Mar 2016, 14:14

I think the permanent closure of Pooles Lane to through traffic is a great idea. I can see no way though that it could be made to work. Perhaps we need to think bigger!
Just sayin, when I lived in London, Downing Street was open to anyone, and they managed to change that to suit the residents' needs, didn't they.

Fri 26 Feb 2016, 11:01

I think if there were a permanent closure at some point along the lane to ease the flow of traffic, the lowerable bollards could allow access to emergency vehicles and refuse trucks.

Fri 26 Feb 2016, 10:56 (last edited on Fri 26 Feb 2016, 11:12)

It seems strange, Tony, that you are 'presuming that in the future the development which has been applied for goes ahead and that this would provide the required turning space', given that the council of which you are a member has asked this planning application to go to committee, one of the expressly stated reasons being the difficulty of the access point.

That said, thank you for conducting this survey!

Fri 26 Feb 2016, 10:46 (last edited on Fri 26 Feb 2016, 10:49)

Helen, it's such a relief albeit temporary to have NO TRAFFC AT ALL passing our living room with inches to spare (particularly the refuse collection trucks that drive backwards at some speed past here, to make turning unnecessary). Normally there is so much traffic that it doesn't feel like the lane any longer.
Concerns about the extra traffic volume are being expressed in other places and this reprieve we have now may be the last chance we *ever* get to feel that we are living in a conservation area.

Fri 26 Feb 2016, 10:27

Lowerable bollards where, and for what purpose? Sorry, I don't get your drift.

Thu 25 Feb 2016, 21:10 (last edited on Thu 25 Feb 2016, 21:18)

Thank you to everyone that responded to the survey
It was pointed out that there should be questions for walkers so they have now been included
I appreciate residents concerns about deliveries and space for their vehicles to turn round
I must admit that I was presuming that in the future the development which has been applied for goes ahead and that this would provide the required tuning space
It is possible to put in lowerable bollards for emergency vehicles or in the event of Dancers Lane being g impassible due to ice etc
Look forward to further response

Tue 23 Feb 2016, 13:21

I'm really enjoying the lack of traffic when walking along it!

Tue 23 Feb 2016, 05:33

Subsequently, the improved road will then be ready to be dug up again when the 'development' starts.

Mon 22 Feb 2016, 22:45

Yes the contact is Wayne Barker 0845 310 1111 at OCC highways and transport

Mon 22 Feb 2016, 16:10 (last edited on Mon 22 Feb 2016, 17:42)

I was curious about that Graham, I did look in the OCC Highways and found a map highlighting road closures showing Pooles Lane, Charlbury for Drainage improvements, and explaining the diversion.My Sister lives down Pooles lane hence my curiosity.

Mon 22 Feb 2016, 11:55

Hi Tony

... the contact is?

Sun 21 Feb 2016, 13:34

Hi Graham
We were just told
In the interests of public safety it will be necessary for Oxfordshire County Council to close a short section of Pooles Lane to facilitate drainage improvement works.
But presume from the length of time for the works that all drainage problems in the are will be resolved
If you do want to know the details the contact is

Sun 21 Feb 2016, 11:28 (last edited on Sun 21 Feb 2016, 11:29)

Are details available of the drainage work that will be carried out? Hopefully the 'Crawborough River' probelm will be addressed!

Sun 21 Feb 2016, 10:23

As you may have noticed Pooles Lane will be closed for about three weeks This is for essential drainage works (not directly associated with the current planning application)
My personal view is that this would be a good opportunity for people to consider the effect of the closure Obviously there will be inconvenience for some but perhaps others may find that there are alternative routes to going down Pooles lane. I therefore thought it would be a good idea to collect views on this and have set up an on-line survey for this purpose which you might like to use. This is something I have set-up myself and is not part of any organisation or other body and of course is voluntary.
If you would like to take part this is the link to the survey www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/RLR24/